Detroit Dominates As The Auto Industry Roars Back To Life

The Chevrolet Cruze in production at Lordstown Assembly in Lordstown, Ohio. General Motors U.S. November auto sales data will roll through over the next few hours, but the early announcers have been incredibly positive. Analysts are predicting seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales could top 13 million during this period, the third consecutive month it would break that barrier this year.

Sales increases were led by sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Ford said SUVs grew more than 43% as sales of its Explorer jumped 217% to 12,888 vehicles. General Motors saw sales of its Silverado pickup increase 34% for the month to 34,251 units.

On the electric front, the Chevrolet Volt continued on its roll-out ramp up. The company delivered 1,139 of the eco-vehicles, up 39 units from October. GM had hoped to deliver 10,000 of the cars by year's end, but is on track to fall short of that number — year-to-date it has produced 6,142 Volts.